The Hideout

by cmo2user

19 Nov 2015

Anyone who’s ever visited The Hideout, located just northwest of Goose Island, has had the same exact question: “Where exactly am I?” Surrounded by industrial sprawl and operating out of a 100-year-old house, the tiny establishment with the tinier back room places a priority on friends, hangs, and hangs with friends. It also hosts live music most nights—folk, Americana, country, indie, jazz, soul, experimental—where a crazy range of established, soon-to-be-established, never-will-be-established, and no-name artists commingle.

No matter what’s happening, there’s plenty of reason just to show up and hang in the bar, but you’ll also stumble upon DJ sets, dance parties, veggie bingo, live comedy game shows, prose readings, music quiz shows, and other oddities. The Hideout’s annual Block Party, set across the way in an open lot, is a massive shindig and a regular highlight—one of the most under-hyped and economical options for festivals in Chicago.

For the uninitiated: note that The Hideout is hard to find even if you’re driving with a navigation system, and you may not want to walk alone around there late at night.